Guardiola apologizes for calling his former player overweight

Coach Pep Guardiola apologized to Kalvin Phillips for publicly criticizing the English midfielder for being overweight upon returning from the 2022 World Cup.

Thanks to his top form when he helped England reach the Euro 2021 final, Phillips was recruited by Man City for 61 million USD in the summer of 2022. However, the 28-year-old midfielder did not meet expectations, only starting six times in 18 months, before joining West Ham on loan in the January 2024 transfer window.

After finding a new destination, Phillips said he was heavily affected by Guardiola's comments when he was left out of the squad for the 3-2 win over Liverpool in the round of 16 of the English League Cup in December 2022. At that time, Guardiola explained that Phillips was overweight and not in the right physical condition to train and compete.

At the press conference before the Premier League round 18 match against Brentford today, when asked if he regretted publicly criticizing Phillips for being overweight, Guardiola replied: "Yes. I apologize. I never say anything without telling the players first, in this case Phillips."

Coach Guardiola instructs Phillips (left) before sending him onto the field in the match against Burnley in the FA Cup quarter-finals on March 18, 2023 at Etihad Stadium. Photo: Reuters — Coach Guardiola instructs Phillips (left) before sending him onto the field in the match against Burnley in the FA Cup quarter-finals on March 18, 2023 at Etihad Stadium. Photo: *Reuters*

Having won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, Man City still have a chance to win the remaining three trophies this season: Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. But in the journey to the fourth consecutive Premier League title, Man City has conceded 26 goals - two more than Liverpool and four more than Arsenal. The 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad last weekend means Man City have kept just six clean sheets in 25 Premier League games this season - Man City's lowest figure at the same stage of the competition under Guardiola.

The 53-year-old coach said the priority for him and his team is not to keep a clean sheet, but to play better, concede fewer goals, create more chances in each match and, most importantly, win the game. "That is my target every time I prepare for a match," he stressed. "When we concede a goal, we have to improve, in a way that this goal can be avoided and hopefully it won't happen again next time."

In the 3-1 win at Gtech Community Stadium on February 5, Kyle Walker reacted violently to the provocative words of Neal Maupay - the striker playing for Brentford on loan from Everton. "I don't want that, sometimes there are emotions on the pitch but this incident has been forgotten. I think they have talked and everything is over."

When asked how he dealt with the provocative words of his opponents during his professional career, Guardiola replied: "It depends on my mood. Sometimes I can control myself, sometimes I go crazy. When I play football, I am the same as the players now."

If they beat Brentford today, Man City will take second place from Arsenal and reduce the gap with Liverpool to one point.

Hong Duy

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